Naked run slams Marcos burial

Reuters

MANILA - Dozens of men from the University of the Philippines (UP) ran naked through their Manila campus on Friday to protest the burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at a cemetery for national heroes.

Marcos, who ruled for nearly two decades, was buried with military honors in the Taguig City last Friday almost 30 years after his death, angering human rights activists who accuse him of human rights violations and corruption.

The students, clad only in masks, held banners demanding that Marcos' body be removed from the cemetery, as crowds gathered to watch the 'Oblation Run'.

"This run is a manifestation of our anger against what we see as the Marcoses trying to revise history, trying to revive their name," said Toby Roca, spokesman of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity.

Past governments had blocked the burial, either because they were led by enemies of Marcos or bowed to public opinion about the former leader, who was chased from office in a "people power" revolt in 1986.

The naked run, an annual tradition to highlight different causes, began in the 1970s when students protested after Marcos banned a film criticizing his administration.